Hard Won
by Sheraven
Summary: When Rita and Zedd play hard ball, can the Rangers handle it? It will take everything Billy and Tommy have to win. Warning: Mature themes including torture, violence and death.
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter One_

It was unfortunate, but Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd had learned something from Ivan Ooze. They had learned to play rough. It seemed so simple now, why their monsters hadn't worked before. Last time Rita was in power, the human race was just coming out of the stone age and was completely unaccustomed to magic of any type. The Homo Erectus species could not comprehend violence on a grand scale because not enough of them ever banded together to even be considered a large group.

When Rita came out of her prison, she had remained unchanging, but the human race was completely different. It was now Homo Sapiens, and had they ever banded into a large group. The people covered the earth like a fast growing bacteria, rooting in one spot and spreading out from there. Rita thought she would have more success by joining forces with another evil being, but his reign had been before even hers the last time. Neither of them were prepared for the level of resistance they would receive from mere striplings of a race.

Zordon himself had been surprised at how hardened his charges were when he met them. Growing up in a world where violence was glorified on television, sung about in music, and even finely honed as an exercise had toughened their innocent hearts somewhat. More than half their number participated in martial arts, all of them went to see 'action' movies, and none of them even flinched when they donned their brightly colored armor and took to battle. They even shook off injuries as if they were unimportant. It made the inter-dimensional being a little sad sometimes.

When Ivan Ooze, as his name was said on Earth, appeared, the Rangers couldn't have imagined the level of power they faced. Ivan's propensity to enslave anyone he could find was often the killing blow to his enemies. None could fight when their own friends and family were attacking them. Ivan's attack on the Power Chamber was his other big strategy. Remove the general, or the one guiding the troops, and they become lost. In Zordon's long history, he had not seen it fail. It was through wills carved of countless battles and the selfless duty to protect others that the Rangers went to Phaedos and conquered not only the Ninjetti power, but themselves as well.

They returned in high spirits and high power, and did not even mention the bruises and cuts they sustained. They even drew life force of themselves to pull the rapidly-aging mentor from death's door and install him again into power. He never mentioned it to the teens, but he and Alpha had sometimes discussed how poignant it was that they never thought of themselves. How heartrending that they had to grow up so fast, and that each of them had done so without a complaint. No one would ever know their identities beyond their colors, even though they should be sung about and worshipped for what they did on a daily basis.

It was all the worse when Rita and Zedd were released from Ivan's power after his destruction. Ivan came closer than any of them to destroying the Power Rangers, and the evil couple had learned from him. The human death toll was in the scores before the Rangers even knew the new monster was on Earth. It was the worse they had seen. It looked like everyone else except for midnight black skin and snow white hair. The oddly colored man had been built for extreme enjoyment of violence and dropped in the middle of the shopping mall.

The worse part was that the creature had no discretion. It killed whatever was closest to it. First, it killed a group of women coming out of a lingerie shop by breaking each of their necks. Next were a few older folks who were too slow to get away. It had little trouble beating them to death. People ran screaming in all directions as it marched through the crowded corridors, perpetrating horrendous acts of violence without mercy. The worst, however, that the Power Rangers teleported onto the scene just in time to see, was a poor little girl torn limb from limb as she screamed.

Never before had any of the teens seen anything like this. An instant, blinding rage arose in them all and they attacked, fueled by reckless hate. Doing battle without a clear mind has never brought an advantage, and this time was no different. Adam, the most gentle of them all, was the first to go in. He surprised his teammates by calling on the power of the mastodon and rushing in, the full force of his patron animal behind his blow. His kick connected and sent out a shockwave that broke out three storefront windows and cracked the tile under his feet. The creature was unfazed, however, and took hold of the Black Ranger by his neck and lifted him off the ground.

Adam struggled feebly as the others rushed in to help him. Tommy's fist in its face distracted it enough for the Black Ranger to get free, but when Adam landed on the ground, he didn't get up. Kimberly was next, striking at the creature with her powered up pink whip. The blows to the body were having no effect, so she moved past her usually demure self and whipped it in the face. The tip connected with its right eye and drew blood as she had intended, but the Pink Ranger was not prepared for what happened next. It roared like a dragon and paused only for a moment while its eye reformed and healed.

It then moved with lightening speed and tore the whip from her hands. Easily fending off Billy's strikes from behind, it snapped the handle of the whip in half and whirled on Aisha, who was sneaking up behind it. It threw the jaggedly broken piece at the Yellow Ranger with such force that it buried in her shoulder and carried her across the room, pinning her to a large planter. She cried out and tried to get up, but the broken whip was imbedded too firmly in the concrete behind her bleeding shoulder.

Tommy roared in anger and drew his sword, the eyes of the tiger head glowing with his rage. He moved faster than anyone had ever seen him, slashing and stabbing over and over. Each time, the cuts the White Ranger inflicted healed faster, and soon, he could not tell if he was doing any damage at all. The creature reached out with a black hand and snatched Tommy's wrist out of the air, pulling the White Ranger to the ground. With a sickening wet crack, Tommy dropped the sword and flinched in the monster's grasp.

Rocky and Billy nodded to one another briefly before moving in simultaneously. Billy went low and swept the thing's feet, while Rocky went high and sent one of his powerful flying sidekicks directly at it's neck. Because of the Blue Ranger's actions, its head dropped right into place as Rocky's kick connected. Another shockwave went out that brought dust and glass raining down from the high ceiling, and the creature's neck bent at an unnatural angle. It fell to it's knees but did not release Tommy, who continued to pull at it's grasp.

As soon as it was on the ground, Kimberly came running in, wielding a huge knife from the nearby kitchen store. She plunged it straight into the monster's abdomen, and pulled up, slicing through the midsection. The others stared at her brutality in shock; they had no idea sweet Kimberly was capable of such violence. She ripped the blade upward until it caught on the creature's ribs and broke off. It roared fiercely again and twisted Tommy's broken wrist. He trembled in his armor, but could not break free.

Still on its knees, it reached up and popped its head back into place, turning the evil eye on the one who did that to it. Slowly, while gripping Tommy's wrist as an outlet for the pain, it withdrew the broken metal. Another bone broke in the White Ranger's arm, but Tommy was helpless to do anything but take it. The creature flipped the blade so the point was in it's hand and threw it at Rocky with shocking speed. The Red Ranger tried to seek cover, but he was not fast enough.

As the blade flipped through the air, Rocky turned and dived for the ground. The point made its final rotation mere inches from Rocky's neck when a form got in the way. The Blue Ranger twisted as he placed his body between the whistling blade and his friend's throat. It sank into Billy's side, with the unexpected side effect of mixing the creature's foul blood with his own. The Blue Ranger dropped and cried out in pain as the hot contaminant spread through his veins.

As Rocky picked himself up, the creature stood and advanced on Kimberly. Tommy bit back a scream as he fought to pull the monster away. It broke the other bone in his forearm to make a point and before he could do anything, it's hand whipped out and broke through the Pink Ranger's armor just under her chest plate. She went stiff as its fingers dug into her flesh and then limp as it lifted her bodily to fling her at Adam's still form. Tommy screamed in rage and pain, completely unable to get away or do anything.

Rocky was on its back in an instant, using his formidable bulk to get the creature off its feet. The Red Ranger had also taken a page from Kimberly's book and rammed Tommy's dropped sword into the creature's mouth. It gurgled for a moment, then its white eyes took on a strange gleam. It pulled Rocky over it's shoulder effortlessly by his armor, and threw him straight up. The Red Ranger broke through the mall's skylight, flailing to gain control. The top of his flight came just above the mall, then he came tumbling back down.

Once again passing through the broken windows, he landed hard on the marble floor, making a small crater. Tommy watched in horror as the monster pulled out the sword with no problem and began to laugh. On the moon, Rita and Zedd closed their mouths from the shocked stare at the violence of their latest creature and began to laugh as well. Kimberly was tangled on top of Adam's motionless form, red blood pouring out from her armor. There was a much larger pool of blood around Aisha, who had stopped struggling and passed out from so much lost.

Billy was flat on his back, weakly trying to remove the poisonous blade from his side, but barely moving at all. Rocky, on the other hand, was completely still. His red helmet had cracked open on impact, and blood was seeping from under the dark hair. Tommy felt a wave of anguish wash over him. The right arm on his own white armor was soaked with blood and his hand was at a sickening angle, but that was not the worst. He had failed his team. The monster stopped laughing and stared down at the White Ranger with snapping white eyes. It crushed his right arm as it leaned down, filling Tommy with pain. Just before his consciousness fled, it spoke.

"I am Cruelty. You are nothing."

_To be continued…_


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter Two_

The first thing he became aware of was the sound of his own breathing. It was harsh and heavy, much like his body was beginning to feel. His wrists were the next thing to register, they felt wet. He concentrated all his power into opening his eyes, and blinked a few times to clear his vision. He immediately regretted the decision.

Billy's pale blue eyes scanned the room before him. It was a plain cement box, with only one door off to the side, and a weak table lamp bearing a naked bulb on the floor. He was in an upright position and looked up to see iron shackles holding him that way. His wrists felt wet because they were coated with blood where the shackles had held his unconscious body weight. He moved to take a step and was startled by the sharp sound of chains reverberating in the plain room. To his dismay, he found his feet were bound, too, with the chains to the shackles bolted into the cement floor.

It was a painful relief to shift his weight onto his feet, but it helped his wrists a little. It was chilly in the room, but that was partially due to the fact that he was only wearing his blue jeans. Everything else had been stripped away. There was nothing in front of him, and that bare lamp to the side, so he craned his sore neck to look behind him. As the Blue Ranger twisted, a stabbing pain made his breath catch in his throat. He had almost forgotten about the knife wound to his side.

The best Billy could see was a tan form in a white tank top and black jeans tied to a chair. It had to be their leader, but he wasn't moving. A closer inspection revealed that one of the forearms tied behind his back was twisted grossly out of shape. "Tommy…" he whispered loudly, not wanting to call attention to the fact that he was awake, "Tommy!" The White Ranger did not move. Before Billy could do any more, the door clicked unlocked and opened, revealing his captor.

It was a well-built male with jet black skin and blinding white hair in a flat-top buzz cut. The irises of its eyes were white, but the pupils were black, taking away any hope that it might actually be blind. It wore simple gray armor that stood out against the dark skin and moved with a purpose. It strode up to the Blue Ranger, who stood tall and faced it in the chains. "Ah, I see you're awake. Excellent."

It reached behind Billy and picked up a long, slender switch from a small table. The stick was as black as the one holding it, and the monster slapped it onto the palm if its other hand. "My name is Cruelty, and I have a question for you, Blue Ranger." Billy straightened and stared straight ahead, looking past the monster. It walked behind him and raised the cane. "Would you like to know what that question is?" Before Billy could answer, it brought its arm down, whipping the cane over his bare back. The crack echoed through the empty room.

Billy's whole body flinched in pain, and he felt the first hot drop of blood sliding down his back from the mark. It walked around to his front and looked at him, victory on its features. Billy calmed himself slightly and gave it the answer, "No, I wouldn't." The smug look turned to anger as it registered what he had said.

"Are you sure?" It again moved behind him and brought the cane down on the muscular back.

Billy's whole body rocked with the impact, but he answered defiantly again, "I'm sure…and you'll get nothing from me." The Blue Ranger squeezed his eyes shut and another blow struck. It paused long enough to allow Billy to relax a bit, then brought the wood down even harder. Billy clamped his teeth shut to prevent a cry from escaping. Another blow echoed into the room and he broke into a sweat.

"Well," it sneered between strikes, "I am going to tell you anyway." It hit Billy again, who was outright panting now. "I want you to give me…" the next mark crossed two of the others and Billy jerked, "…your power coins." The switch cracked again and the Blue Ranger pulled futilely on the shackles, causing his wrists to bleed more. "Once you do that," the wood cut deeper than the other times, "I'll end it quickly." Another hit and the Blue Ranger sagged in the chains, breathing hard.

No way could he allow their power coins into this monster's hands. If it gave them to Rita and Zedd, their powers would be increased exponentially. They would have no problem enslaving the occupants of Earth, and then spreading out from there. Even if Cruelty didn't give the coins to its makers, it would become an even more dangerous monster, and that was hard to imagine at this point. What would it do with the powers of the colors, if it was nothing but evil now? He shuddered at the thought.

It walked around, squatted down, and looked up into Billy's blue eyes hazed with agony. "Well?" Cruelty asked sweetly. The black cane was glistening in the lamplight with his blood, almost pretty except for the context. To the monster's surprise, Billy took a deep breath and stood up straight, again looking ahead. Anger crossed its features again and it stood, speaking softly right into Billy's ear, "You'll regret that, Blue Ranger." It moved around behind him again and began raining blows down indiscriminately.

The wet cracks of the cane were deafening, and the pain was beyond bearable. But Billy would _not_ cry out, no matter what happened, and give this creature the satisfaction. He had come very close at times, having to jerk his wrists in the shackles to shift his awareness to them, and hold off the scream. He was tensed and covered in sweat, squeezing his eyes shut and gritting his teeth against the torture, tears running down his face. His analytical mind knew it was only a matter of time before his brain shut down from the pain stimulus, but he hoped with all his being it was sooner than later.

As the strikes continued, his mind began to notice other things, like the feel of warm blood soaking his jeans down the back of his legs, and how the floor he was standing on was so smooth under his bare feet. He was grateful when his vision got dark and he began to lose feeling in his body. His body was finally giving out, his mind mercifully allowing it to shut down. He was finally dying.

It was then that the blows stopped. The monster was panting from the effort, and pissed off that Billy hadn't broken. Cruelty put the cane down and moved to Billy's front. The Blue Ranger was hanging in the shackles, blood dripping down his forearms and soaking into the legs of his jeans. His brows were furrowed in pain and he was panting heavily, but he still had not cried out once. It picked up a small knife from the table and tapped it gently on Billy's cheek. The Blue Ranger looked at it, trying to focus his blue eyes.

The black-skinned evil drew back the knife, point directly towards Billy's heart. The Blue Ranger mustered his remaining strength and stood up, facing death bravely and gratefully. It must have read his intentions, because it simply smiled and moved over to the sitting form of the White Ranger. Billy strained to watch it, hoping Tommy would stay blissfully unconscious to his end. Cruelty drew back and punched Tommy hard in the jaw with a black fist, knocking him awake. The Blue Ranger looked away, not wanting to watch what was coming.

Tommy jerked in the chair once he realized he was bound, but growled at the intense pain from his broken right arm. He looked up with angry brown eyes and startled when Cruelty was right in his face. "Glad you could join us," it hissed, moving out of the way and gesturing with the knife at the chained man standing before them. Tommy looked at the beaten body with horror, at first not recognizing the chiseled shape. As his gaze moved up, he recoiled when he identified the sandy blond hair and proud posture.

"Screw you," was all the White Ranger could muster, sickened that the most innocent of them all had been subjected to such a barbaric torture.

Billy bowed his head, knowing the creature was now going to win and that he was going to be the cause of it. Any of the Rangers could handle personal defeat, but as soon as the welfare of another was in jeopardy, they acceded. He had become the leverage against Tommy the monster wanted. The Blue Ranger cursed himself for not dying before Tommy was brought into this. Behind him, Cruelty smiled, knowing what Billy knew.

"You two were the only ones still moving, so I figured you could give me what I want." Tommy tried to lunge at the monster, tugging on his bonds and even moving the chair a little. "Your friend here takes to pain surprisingly well, so I guess you'll have to tell me." It moved like lightening and drove its fist across Tommy's face, whipping his head to the side. When he sat up again, he was bleeding from the mouth and his long hair was around his shoulders, the tie broken.

"What I want to know is," it punched Tommy again with the force of an elephant, knocking him and the chair backwards, "where are your power coins?" It put its foot on the chair and pulled Tommy into the upright position again.

Tommy knew the same thing Billy did, that it was not an option for this creature to get hold of those coins. He answered by spitting blood right into its face. Cruelty yelled in rage as it wiped its face off and took hold of Tommy's throat, squeezing hard. The White Ranger struggled to breathe past the crushing hand, rasping for air as he tried to free his hands. Spots appeared in his vision and the blood roared in his ears, but Cruelty let him go. He gasped, trying to regain himself, as it walked toward Billy. It smiled at him as it took hold of the poisonous knife blade still imbedded in the Blue Ranger.

In all the torture, Billy had forgotten about that annoying pain in his side. The ferocity of the agony caught him completely off guard and he cried out as Cruelty twisted the blade, throwing his head back in anguish. The black monster twisted the blade again, and Billy's scream turned from expressing the pain to begging for it to cease. Tommy yelled for the monster to stop and tried to get at it, even though he was tied to the chair. It let go of the knife and Billy sagged, tears once again on his cheeks and panting. He had failed by crying out, and Cruelty was enjoying it immensely.

Tommy was seething, the hatred practically radiating off him. Cruelty said cheerfully, "Give me what I want and this will be over quickly." Tommy pulled at his bonds again and groaned in pain as one of the broken bones popped. The black-skinned monster smiled at his efforts, "I must say, I'm truly impressed by both of you. But the longer you wait to tell me…" It spit in its hand and smeared the acidic saliva over Billy's back. The Blue Ranger flinched in the bonds and sucked air through his teeth, but otherwise stayed quiet.

Tommy glared daggers at their captor, slowly moving his broken arm in the bonds and using the pain to help him focus. "It's too bad more of you didn't make it. That Yellow one would have been fun to work with, but she passed out too quickly." It walked slowly around the room as it taunted them with the fate of their teammates. "The Black one was hardly worth killing, he was completely useless." It stopped to look into Billy's eyes, "The Red one had some fire though…oh well." Billy dropped his gaze so Cruelty wouldn't see the pain of their loss in his eyes.

It sauntered over to Tommy who was just aching to get out of the bonds and at the monster. "Oh, but that Pink one, I shouldn't have killed her so soon, she would have been…" Tommy's brown eyes burned with rage, "…quite pleasing for awhile."

That last comment cut Tommy to the bone, he had to take a deep breath to distract himself from the memory of the last time he saw his beloved Kimberly. The amount of blood coming out, and how still she was, he felt her loss as keenly as any. He loved her, and now she was gone, before he had a chance to tell her. Cruelty lived up to its name, saying, "What's the matter? Was she somebody to you?" Tommy only closed his eyes and swallowed the lump in his throat.

Their captor stretched languidly and stated, "Well, you have one more chance to tell me, before you lose another loved one." It grabbed a fistful of Billy's blond hair and yanked his head back, exposing his vulnerable throat. The blade of the knife was cold against his flushed skin and the Blue Ranger tried to rein in his fear. Cruelty spoke slowly and deliberately, "Where are the power coins?"

Tommy set his jaw and pulled uselessly against the ropes holding him. Cruelty let the blade cut into Billy's neck slightly and the Blue teenager stiffened. Tommy couldn't bear to watch another one of his friends killed, least of all the kind, quiet one. He opened his mouth to give an answer, but Billy's smooth tenor voice spoke over him. With a heartbreakingly accepting tone, the blond said, "No, my friend."

Whatever the long-haired teen was going to say caught in his throat at Billy's denial. The Blue Ranger knew it meant his death, and was still willing to accept the consequences of his defiance. Tommy's heart swelled with pride and panic as Cruelty smiled and drew the blade back in preparation for plunging into the beaten Ranger's chest. Tommy screamed, "No!" in a futile effort to stay his enemy's hand.

The White Ranger roared as he tore his broken arm from the bonds, freeing his other hand. Cruelty was so shocked Tommy got loose, it didn't move when it should have. Tommy dived at the monster's legs, trying to knock it away from Billy. On the way down, he ripped the knife from its grasp with his good hand and flipped it around, all in one smooth motion. He buried the shining blade in one of the white eyes, twisting it for good measure.

A cry erupted from the fallen beast as it twitched once then lay unmoving, a look of shock still on its face. Tommy pulled the knife from its head and sliced the ropes off the chair he had dragged with him in his attack. A panicked, "Tommy!" came from above and he stood, cradling his right arm. As the two had gone down, Cruelty had dealt one last blow by slicing into the side of the Blue Ranger's neck. Blood was pouring down his shining shoulder, glistening in the lamp light.

"Oh no," Tommy said raggedly as he looked around for something to stop the bleeding. He whipped off his tank top and held it tightly against Billy's neck, stemming the flow a bit. After a quick search, he found the keys to the shackles on Cruelty's belt and unlocked one arm at a time. Billy fell distressingly limp against his friend, and Tommy gently lowered him to the ground. He unlocked the gentle Ranger's ankles and then turned all his attention to stopping the blood flow. Billy was weakly holding the shirt, the red rapidly spreading to cover the white.

"Billy! Don't you go now…Billy! We just beat the bad guy…hang on, buddy." Tommy was beside himself. It looked like the cut had just barely nicked an artery, and while there wasn't spurting, if he didn't get the bleeding stopped soon, it wouldn't matter.

"T-Tommy…" the blond began, his words catching as another wave of pain passed through his bloody back against the cold floor.

"Don't speak, save your strength," the leader of the Rangers responded, pressing firmly on the reddening shirt and looking around for the rest of their clothes and communicators.

"No," Billy panted, "b-behind you." The Blue Ranger saw it, but could not warn his friend in time.

Cruelty rose up behind Tommy with the discarded knife and plunged it into his kidney, laughing. "You thought that would kill me? You pathetic creature." It pulled the knife out and moved to strike again.

Tommy grunted in pain, but forced himself to turn around and face his attacker. The only thing in reach was the chair, and he took hold of it with his good hand. They both stood, the White Ranger staggering a bit from his new injury. They moved at the same time, like two wild beasts stuck in a cage together. The chair smashed into bits against the black monster and caused him to miss his slash. Tommy took one of the sharper broken fragments and drove the wood into Cruelty's chest, knocking him down.

When Tommy leaped on it, the beast slashed upwards, opening a gash along Tommy's good arm. The two grappled over the knife when Cruelty suddenly lost some mobility and concentration. The long-haired black belt took advantage of the lag and pried the knife from its fingers, plunging it directly into the throat. It let out a gurgling laugh and said, "That won't kill me."

"Yeah?" Tommy began to saw through the soft tissue brutally. "Maybe this will." Cruelty screamed as the blade hit its spinal column and stuck. Tommy used his good arm against his body for leverage and snapped the neck, separating it completely from the body. There was one last gurgle and Tommy rolled the head across the room. For good measure, he wrenched the blade from the spine and buried it into the still heart, right beside the hole from the chair fragment.

Panting, he rolled off and was shocked to see Billy holding the bottom half of the body. It was he who had distracted Cruelty at the crucial moment and given Tommy the chance to get the upper hand. But at what cost? He was laying over the legs face down and not moving. The White Ranger rolled his friend off and was perturbed to see that not only had Billy's bleeding not stopped, but the shirt was soaked, useless, and across the room. Tommy moved to fetch the shirt, but cried out as he dropped, the knife wound in his back finally catching up with him. He fell beside his friend.

They two teenagers looked at one another with a strange combination of victory and defeat. Billy didn't even have the strength to hold his hand to his neck, and the flow was slowing a bit with his heartbeat. Tommy could feel the hot pool of black blood growing under him, the cut to his organs had indeed been deep. Brown eyes met blue and they exchanged weak smiles.

"It has been an extreme honor and pleasure to serve beside you, my friend," Billy said softly, no strength left to do otherwise. He closed his eyes briefly against another wave of pain, but it was soon over. All the sensations from his beaten back, the poisoned blade in his side and the laceration on his neck were fading to a pleasant buzz.

"I've never been so lucky as to have known you. Thank you." Tommy felt the heat of his body escaping with the blood and began to shiver slightly. He couldn't feel his right arm at all, and even the pain in his heart for failing the entire team as their leader was beginning to lessen. "I-I'm sorry I couldn't s-stop…" his words faded away as Billy smiled in forgiveness.

Neither of them knew if any of the others survived, nor would they ever. They each only hoped that the Power Rangers, those who still breathed, would live out full and happy lives. They regretted not being able to say goodbye, but perhaps it was better if they were not seen in this condition. That was no way to remember a friend.

Tommy suddenly stopped shivering and turned a calm look toward the Blue Ranger. Billy's unseeing eyes stared at him, and he could swear he saw a blue aura drift up from the broken body. His own lids got heavy and he felt a warm, bright light calling to him. After such a long fight, it was time to go home. Tommy closed his eyes.

_The End_


End file.
